Deus Misereatur

[The sermon can be heard here:  http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?m=t&s=1226121020243 ] There is just something about Christmas time. The tinsel, the pine trees, ornaments, lights, smells, the sounds of families laughing and being together again, along with the songs that conjure up memories of Christmases past. And yet there are the “other” Christmases that don’t warm the heart. Those two shoppers you saw fighting over the last toy on the shelf at the store. Scenes of harried and hassled people in the shopping malls, fretting over the quantity of gifts or the mounting debt they were accruing. The family meltdown last Christmas when Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary exploded with stabbing words and ghastly stares that poisoned everyone’s heart, as well as the advertisements that glorify and exalt selfishness, greed, lust, and envy. These are the sad scenarios of Christmas, which make it a repugnant and dreadful season for some. But underneath the sounds and smells there is...

“Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.” Contemplating this passage, I am probably going to say things that are not too surprising, and I might say a thing or two that are. And again, just in case I get lost along the way...